Astronomy Prints 🌌: NASA cancels spacewalk 🧑‍🚀

Thursday, June 13, 2024

NASA cancels spacewalk 🧑‍🚀

A SpaceNews daily newsletter | Thursday, June 13, 2024

Top Stories

NASA called off a spacewalk outside the International Space Station early this morning. NASA astronauts Tracy C. Dyson and Matt Dominick were scheduled to begin the spacewalk at about 8 a.m. Eastern this morning, but NASA announced about half an hour before the scheduled start that the spacewalk was called off. Commentary on NASA TV stated that a "suit discomfort issue" caused the postponement, but provide no other details. Dyson and Dominick were to remove an electronics box so it could be returned to Earth for refurbishment and also swab parts of the station's exterior to see any microorganisms are living there. The postponed spacewalk is not related to an incident yesterday where audio from a simulation was accidentally piped in the ISS live feed, making it appear for a time there was a medical emergency on the station. [NASA | Space.com]

Spire Global is partnering with Thales and European Satellite Services Provider (ESSP) for a satellite constellation that would provide air traffic surveillance services. The constellation of more than 100 satellites will collect aircraft Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) messages and quickly relay them to ground stations. The goal of the system is to provide updates on aircraft positions every eight seconds with a latency of 1.5 seconds. The partners aim to begin providing commercial services from the new constellation in 2027. Spire will develop the space segment and Thales will deliver the air traffic management system. ESSP, formed by regional air navigation service providers, will manage the certification and delivery of air traffic surveillance services and perform round-the-clock operations. [SpaceNews]

Artificial intelligence is a powerful tool for satellite imaging but it is not "magic," one company says. At an event Wednesday, executives with Planet said they are aggressively exploiting AI to turn its trove of pictures into actionable intelligence. However, there are limits to AI's ability to analyze imagery, with the need for more expertise and knowledge to turn imagery into insights desired by customers. Planet's next phase of AI in Earth observation will be on-orbit computing, with an upcoming Planet satellite outfitted with Nvidia's Jetson edge AI platform. [SpaceNews]

Albedo plans to launch the first of its very-high-resolution imaging satellites next year. The company announced Wednesday its Clarity satellite is scheduled to launch on SpaceX's Transporter-13 rideshare mission in early 2025. Clarity will operate in a low orbit enabling it to take images with resolutions as sharp as 10 centimeters in optical wavelengths and 2 meters in thermal infrared. Customers have reserved much of Clarity's capacity for its first two years of operation. Albedo plans to operate a constellation of up to 24 satellites, based on customer demand. [SpaceNews]

Nine members of Congress have asked NASA to reconsider proposed cuts in the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. In the letter to administrator Bill Nelson, the members said the proposed 40% cut in Chandra's budget for 2025 could lead to a "premature termination" of the 25-year-old space telescope, echoing concerns raised by astronomers. They asked NASA to maintain Chandra operations at current levels while the appropriations process plays out. NASA is wrapping up a review of operations of Chandra and Hubble seeking ways to reduce their operating costs, with an announcement on any changes planned for later this summer. [SpaceNews]

Other News

European cooperation on China's lunar exploration program may be coming to an end. ESA provided a payload for China's Chang'e-6 complex lunar far side sample return mission, an instrument developed by the Swedish Institute of Space Physics. While that instrument worked well, ESA says there are no plans now to cooperation on future Chinese lunar missions. ESA also does not plan to participate in the China-led International Lunar Research Station. [SpaceNews]

Armenia is the latest country to sign the Artemis Accords. The country's minister of high-tech industry signed the Accords Wednesday in a ceremony at NASA Headquarters. Armenia is the 43rd country overall to sign the document, which outlines best practices for responsible space exploration, and the 10th so far this year. [SpaceNews]

Raytheon won a contract to build instruments for the Landsat Next series of Earth science spacecraft. NASA announced Wednesday it awarded Raytheon a $506.7 million contract to build three instruments, with an option for a fourth, for Landsat Next. That program will feature three spacecraft to provide improved temporal resolution in observations of the Earth, using a camera with 26 spectral bands. [NASA]

Former employees have sued SpaceX and CEO Elon Musk for wrongful termination. The eight employees were fired two years ago after circulating an open letter criticizing Musk's comments on social media. The former employees claim that there was an "Animal House" atmosphere within the company, with crude and sexually suggestive language and behavior. The employees had previously filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB); SpaceX has countered that the NLRB itself is unconstitutional. [New York Times]

The next generation of Galileo navigation satellites have passed key reviews. ESA said this week that separate designs for the Galileo Second Generation satellites by Airbus Defence and Space and by Thales Alenia Space has passed their critical design reviews. The reviews allow the companies to move into full production of the satellites, with the first launches planned before the end of the decade. [ESA]

Miserable Spaceflight

"The first few days in spaceflight can be pretty miserable, right? We want to learn who is susceptible to that and also what we can do to mitigate those things in terms of medication or something you can do on the ground to prepare you for that period, because you want to enjoy it."

– Mathias Basner, a psychiatry professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, on studies of the health effects of spaceflight on commercial astronauts, based on data collected during the Inspiration4 mission in 2021. [WHYY Philadelphia]

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